How to connect a second battery

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   I want to add second battery to my 2017 Rpod 179. What type and size of cables does it require? Can I do it myself, or should I take it to an RV dealer's service department? I have one new Group 24 battery that came with the trailer, and I want to add a similar battery to extend the time for dry camping.

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happywifehappylife Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 10 Sep 2016 Location: Boring, Oregon Online Status: Offline Posts: 14	Topic: How to connect a second battery Posted: 12 Sep 2016 at 1:19pm
	I want to add second battery to my 2017 Rpod 179. What type and size of cables does it require? Can I do it myself, or should I take it to an RV dealer's service department? I have one new Group 24 battery that came with the trailer, and I want to add a similar battery to extend the time for dry camping.

TheBum Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 26 Feb 2016 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 1407	Posted: 12 Sep 2016 at 2:54pm
	Your biggest gain for run time is to go to two 6V golf cart batteries in series. However, you can gain some run time by running two 12V batteries in parallel. All you need to do is get a second Group 24 battery and connect + to + and - to -, leaving the wiring into the trailer where it is. As for wire size, I'd recommend 8AWG or larger.

furpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128	Posted: 12 Sep 2016 at 3:20pm
	You need to wire them in parallel..this is our old dual 12v setup.. you can see the positives and negatives are connected, then connected to the pod. The pod wires can be on the same battery, or one on each as required, some believe that putting the cables one on each battery is "better".. after talking to several EE's, the consensus is that in a 2 battery, 12v, bank, no measurable difference will be found. Mine ran in that configuration for 5 years, both batteries tested 100% and exactly the same capacity of charge, when replaced with dual 6's.

sailor323 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 11 Jun 2015 Location: S Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 281	Posted: 13 Sep 2016 at 11:56am
	If you want to add a battery, choose one that is the same size as your present battery. Hook them in parallel, + to + and - to -. Use 6 ga wire. If you want to change over to 2 6 v golf cart batteries, hook one battery's pos to the other battery's neg and then hook the pod's pos cable to the open pos of one of the 6 v batteries and the pod's neg to the open neg of the other battery. By connecting the pos of one battery to the negative of the other, you have created a 12v battery.